Let’s say you were 11 or 14 years old and you were given a choice something like this….
You can stay at a really cool Eco treehouse-lodge in the Andes Mountains and do fun things like zip lining…
Or, you can hike uphill for 3 straight days, covering 32 km and sleeping in tents. Which do you think Zoe and Mikhaila picked? 🙂
Our original plan was to hike the famous Inca Trail, a 3-day trek through the Sacred Valley and ending at Machu Picchu. Two things we learned…you can only complete this trek with a licensed operator, and you have to be at least 12 years old to complete the trek. And apparently they check id. With Zoe being 11, the official Inca Trail was not an option for us.
After some more research, Katina found a number of other treks which would give us the experience of completing a trek through the Andes mountains and arriving at Machu Picchu. During our time in Cusco Peru leading up to the trek, we learned that Cusco was once the capital of the Inca empire…and that there were a number of “Inca Trails” which started in Cusco and ended in various locations around the empire. The Inca Trail which we decided to take would take us north of Cusco over the Patchicutek pass (at just under 5000 m elevation) and end at the Lares Pass. And we were going to be sleeping in tents! Well, we missed camping season in Canada, so why not…right?
All of this research and decision making happened while we were house sitting in Victoria, British Columbia. After some further discussions, we agreed as a family that the only way to really experience and appreciate Machu Picchu was to do the trek. So we booked our trek with SAM Travel Peru, and we were set to go…we just had to show up and walk… 🙂
We thought it might be a good idea to do some training ahead of time, so while in Victoria we climbed Mount Finlayson. It’s only 419 m above sea level. It’s not a huge hike. We were really struggling after about 10 minutes into the hike! Uh oh…what did we get ourselves in to?!
Fast-forward a few weeks and we were in Cusco and ready to go. The day before our trek, we completed our briefing with the guides, packed our bag and went to sleep. Our wake up at 4:00am came too quickly…but we jumped out of bed with smiles on our faces!
Our minibus picked us up right on time and before we knew it, the vehicle was full with 12 drowsy would-be adventurers (plus the guides!). About an hour into our drive we made a quick stop at a local market to pick up a few things. Our guide, Elvis, had recommended that we could pick up a few things for locals we might meet along the trek.
Back in the bus and about 20 minutes later we were at the trail head and we were told that breakfast would be served. Any time I’ve been hiking before, I’ve never had a full table and chairs magically appear with a full, hot breakfast!
It was nice to get some warm food into us – it was quite cool out – and it also gave us a chance to meet and chat with some of the others in our group. We were an ecclectic bunch, representing Ireland, France, Canada (another couple from Toronto!) and the USA. Everyone was so happy and energetic…would this still be the case in 3 days?
We started out slowly…getting into our hiking groove. Initial reactions? “This isn’t so bad”! Fresh air. beautiful scenery. After all, we were all just out for a lovely walk…right?
There are lovely fields of flowers…
The path begins to climb and we seem to quickly leave civilization behind. Before long, we are almost stampeded!
Pack horses and mules with their cowboy came down the path, moving much more quickly than any of us expected with their full loads on their backs. We quickly moved off to the side of the path to allow the pack-train to pass.
And then we encountered a group of much wilder animals!
A group of sheep and lambs with their “Mamasita” guiding them down the path. Traffic jam in Peru! We learned that as a sign of respect, the older women are addressed as Mama or Mamasita; in Peru they extend the notion of family to everyone. They call each other sister, brother, mother and father – all members of the Peruvian family.
We met a mama and her child along the path, and Zoe took the opportunity to share some of the bread we had bought at the market with them.
A little further along we came to a bend in the path with a small adobe-mud hut..and two small children came out to greet us.
What did we notice here? Well, no toys, no electricity, no running water, none of what we would consider “the comforts of home”. The people are surviving, living off of the land either farming crops – usually potatoes – or animals such as llamas, alpacas, or sheep. The children were happy to get some fresh bread from the market.
From here the path kept climbing and we certainly felt the altitude. We started out trek off at just under 2900 m above sea level, and were heading towards 3800 m, a decent change in altitude over the course of our day.
After a particularly strenuous section, needed a bit of a break next to this gorgeous glacier-fed stream. Don’t think that it’s safe to drink, though…it runs through alpaca land and the water is “polluted”…
Soon we crossed 3600 m in elevation…
And we were rewarded with this spectacular view…
Soon it was time for lunch. I’m not sure how they did it, but our breakfast crew somehow managed to clean up at the trailhead, load up the horses, and passed us to have our lunch tent up and waiting for us when we arrived!
Everyone needed a bit of a rest and a stretch…
Even the horses!
Lunch was fantastic, with fresh guacamole (my favourite!), soup, rice and fish.
After lunch we continued on for another few hours. I think we were all moving a bit more slowly after that feast!
The views kept getting better as we went. Mamasita herding her sheep…
And llamas and alpacas checking out the “crazy tourists”…
I was just waiting for them to pull out their cell phones and take photos of us!
We continued along the river’s edge for the rest of the day…
Eventually we had to cross the river on what I called the “Inca Bridge”!!
As the sun slowly sank lower in the sky, the air took on an almost late-autumn chill…
Which meant that camp couldn’t be too much further away!
I think we were all looking forward to our sleeping bags that night! It was getting chilly…our -17C sleeping bags were going to be put to the test that night for sure.
As we settled in we marveled at the view from our new, luxury accommodations…
Within minutes of our arrival, a small “convenience store” suddenly sprung up!
Not only could you buy camping essentials – like beer, coke, coke zero, sprite and chocolate bars – you could also purchase a hat, gloves and socks to keep you warm! All of the goods wrapped up within 30 seconds into the blanket they were displayed on and the young lady disappeared into the fading light.
Somehow we survived our first day intact…what would day 2 bring?
Find out TOMORROW! 🙂
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